Match #10
VALOUR FC (1-6-2) vs FORGE FC (4-4-2)
When: Friday, June 16th, 7 p.m.
Where: IG Field, Winnipeg
Tickets: https://valourfc.canpl.ca/tickets/
How to watch: OneSoccer is broadcasting all Canadian Premier League games live https://onesoccer.ca/
MATCH PREVIEW:
Valour FC looks to recover from last weekend’s disappointing 2-nil loss to the Wanderers in Halifax back on home turf, where they are unbeaten in 11 – five wins and six draws – dating back to last summer.
Valour welcomed back veteran centre back Andrew Jean-Baptiste in last week’s loss, as he came off the bench late to get his first minutes of the season after suffering an injury in training camp. They’ll need his work and the continuing defensive sturdiness while hoping to see a surge in offence. Valour will be without Pacifique Niyongabire (called up to Burundi national team), captain Diego Gutiérrez (yellow-card suspension) and likely Matteo de Brienne (listed as day to day) while veteran fullback Jordan Haynes continues to be out as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
They’ll face perennial CPL powerhouse Forge FC, who have a draw and two losses in their last three league games – including a 1-mnil loss to Pacific FC last weekend– but remain a formidable foe.
THE GAFFER SAYS:
GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos on Forge FC:
“We’re playing against a very good team. It’s a team that has also gone through a bit of adversity lately with results. They’ve lost three of their last five including the Canadian Championship, so it’s a team that’s going to come in here with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. They also won’t want a team like Pacific to get too far ahead. We expect a very tough challenge like every team in the CPL.”
VALOUR FC SPOTLIGHT:
#35, D: Andrew Jean-Baptiste: Valour’s coaching staff is easing the veteran centre back into the rotation, with his 13 minutes off the bench in last week’s loss a sign of playing time to come.
Jean-Baptiste brings a fierce competitiveness to the Valour lineup, an element that was missing last week and will certainly be welcome in the weeks to come.
https://valourfc.canpl.ca/article/23999
CRITICAL NUMBER
.89
Valour is averaging just .89 goals per match – tied with HFX Wanderers FC and Vancouver FC for lowest in the CPL. The team ranks fifth in shots (81) but just seventh in shots on target (26).
Valour has been shutout in three of its last six matches and has scored more than one goal only twice in nine contests so far this season.
All-Time: Valour FC vs. Forge FC
Overall (win-draw-loss): 6-1-8
Last meeting: May 13, 2023, at Tim Hortons Field — Forge FC 3 Valour FC 2